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December 12, 2012

New Hire Roundup: Commonwealth’s Tedesco Honored

Scharf named chief information security officer at SEC; more

This week in new hires, Commonwealth Financial’s tech guru Darren Tedesco was named to the 2013 Premier 100 IT Leaders list; Todd Scharf was named chief information technology officer by the SEC; nine FSI members won seats on FINRA’s district committee elections; KPMG added several new faces; and the Hedge Fund Association created a new advisory board.

Also, Terrel Bressler joined Prairie Capital Advisors; Neil O’Keeffe went to U.S. Bank’s Private Client Reserve in San Francisco; New York Life announced executive promotions; and Joe Bilsborough was named by Security Benefit to head business development for the western U.S.

Commonwealth Financial Network’s Tedesco Named a Top 100 IT Leader

Darren Tedesco, Commonwealth Financial Network’s managing principal, innovation and strategy, has been named to the 2013 Premier 100 IT Leaders list. The Premier 100, now in its 14th year, spotlights leaders from both the technology and business sides of companies for their exceptional technology leadership and innovative approaches to business challenges. Earlier this year, Tedesco was also named to InvestmentNews’s “Power 20” list of people who will have the greatest influence on financial advisors and the industry in 2012.

Tedesco will be honored, along with fellow Premier 100 recipients, in a special awards ceremony at Computerworld’s annual Premier 100 IT Leaders Conference, March 3–5, 2013, at the JW Marriott Starr Pass Resort & Spa in Tucson, Arizona.

SEC Names Todd Scharf Chief Information Security Officer

The SEC announced recently that it has named Todd Scharf Sr. as chief information security officer and associate director in the agency’s Office of Information Technology. He will continue to lead the SEC’s Office of Information Security, which is responsible for identifying and mitigating potential information-technology security risks and information breaches. He has been actively involved in directing SEC efforts to identify and resolve security risks and exposures and will continue those efforts in his new role.

Scharf joined the SEC in 2009 as assistant director for corporate information security. He began his civilian career in 1996 as a data security analyst at GE Information Services, and spent 11 years at the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, where he worked in various capacities. He was honorably discharged from the U.S. Navy in 1996 as a lieutenant after serving nine and a half years in various capacities, from propulsion engineer to data center manager.

FSI Members Win 9 FINRA Seats

FSI announced Monday that its members won nine seats in the FINRA District Committee elections, making a total of 31 FSI members serving on district committees. At least one member now serves in each of the eleven districts.

KPMG, LLP announced that it is adding several new hires to its alternative investment funds (AIF) practice’s national team, in Los Angeles and San Francisco. The practice is also making additional moves to boost experience and expertise in alternative investments in the firm’s West Coast offices.

Martin Griffiths has joined the Los Angeles office as a principal in the federal tax practice and, with 27 years of real estate experience, will be KPMG’s west coast real estate tax practice lead. Before joining KPMG, he was senior vice president at Irvine C. overseeing its income and property tax group.

K. Peter Ritter has joined KPMG as a principal in the San Francisco federal tax practice, with more than 19 years of experience advising clients on a wide variety of federal income tax matters. He came from the law firm O’Melveny & Myers LLP, where he was a tax partner resident in its San Francisco office.

Daniel Prager has joined KPMG as a managing director in its federal tax AIF practice. Based in Los Angeles, he will focus on helping grow the AIF practice in the west and has 13 years of domestic and international tax experience. Most recently, he served as head of corporate finance for Telefónica Czech Republic. Earlier, he was the vice president for tax at Ares Management and prior to that he held several positions at KPMG in the mergers and acquisitions practice.

Richard Hinton has joined the San Francisco AIF practice as a seconded partner with a focus on the hedge fund industry. He has 16 years of experience with the firm and has held several positions within the audit and advisory functions, both in the U.K. and globally. Previously he was an audit engagement partner in London. He also established and led the team responsible for rolling out KPMG’s FATCA proposition to clients in the U.K.

Graeme Fletcher, a principal in international corporate services, transferred from the firm’s Atlanta office to San Francisco, where he will work with the existing Bay Area alternative investments resources in tax, audit and advisory and develop and lead an alternative investment-focused international tax effort to serve the Bay Area.

New Leaders for Hedge Fund Association

The Hedge Fund Association announced Tuesday that it has created a new high-net-worth advisory board focused on developing educational programs and networking events globally for HNW investors. Its chairperson will be April Rudin, who has over 20 years of marketing experience in both corporate and financial services settings. In a separate move, the HFA promoted Ryan Mitchell to regional director of its west coast chapter.

Rudin, a native of Detroit, is also known in North America and Asia as one of the foremost thought leaders in wealth marketing, next generation, and digital and social media for this specialist market.

Mitchell has more than 12 years of experience in the alternative investments industry. He is currently a senior vice president at Triton Capital Advisors, where he conducts managed futures research and provides personalized portfolio construction and management services to investment advisors, family offices and individual investors.

Terrel Bressler Joins Prairie Capital Advisors

Prairie Capital Advisors Inc. announced recently that it has hired Terrel (Terry) Bressler as a managing director focused on mergers, acquisitions and capital advisory engagements.

Bressler brings over 25 years of investment banking experience. Prior to joining Prairie Capital, he held managing director positions with boutique investment banking groups including Stout Risius Ross and Cleary Gull. He was also an investment banking partner with William Blair & Co. and held senior investment banking positions with McDonald & Co. (now part of Key Bank) and First Chicago Capital Markets (now JP Morgan Chase).

U.S. Bank Welcomes Neil O’Keeffe to The Private Client Reserve

U.S. Bank announced that Neil O’Keeffe has been appointed vice president, wealth management consultant of The Private Client Reserve of U.S. Bank in the San Francisco area. In his new position, he will work with clients across the bay area, including San Francisco, Palo Alto, and San Jose.

O’Keeffe comes to The Private Client Reserve with experience in complex wealth and multi-generational estate planning. He previously served as a director at AllianceBernstein Institutional Investments; prior to that, he was a vice president and financial advisor at Bernstein Global Wealth Management.

New York Life Announces Executive Promotions

New York Life announced that John O’Gara and Richard Simonetti have each been elected senior vice president in the company’s agency department, reporting to Mark Pfaff, executive vice president and head of agency.

O’Gara is responsible for wholesaling operations across all product lines within the agency distribution channel, and also oversees the firm’s Dallas-based advanced planning group. He joined New York Life in 1984 and has held sales and marketing positions across various business operations.

Simonetti is responsible for agent and manager recruitment, training and development. He joined New York Life as an agent in the Long Island general office in July 1996. Since then, he has held several positions with increasing managerial responsibility, including serving as sales manager in that office from 1998 to 2002, managing partner of the Vermont office from 2002 to 2005, and managing partner of the greater Detroit office from 2005 to 2008.

Security Benefit Names Business Development Chief for Western U.S.

Security Benefit Cop. announced that Joe Bilsborough has been appointed field vice president for the company’s financial institutions distribution team with responsibility for all states west of the Mississippi River.

Bilsborough has 25 years of experience in financial services distribution and sales. Prior to joining, Seattle-based Bilsborough spent a combined 18 years at Genworth Financial and Riversource Distributors as a regional and divisional vice president. Most recently, he served as director of institutional distribution for NWTM, a global precious metals firm.

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